DoE report: 190 establishments within 10 km of Sundarbans

There are 190 industries and factories within 10 kilometres of the Sundarbans, according to a Department of Environment (DoE) report submitted by the state to the High Court.
Among them, a total of 24 industries and factories are in the red category and the rest are orange and green.
The state submitted the report to the HC bench of Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Ashraful on Thursday.
The court will pass an order on the report on May 9.
Earlier, on August 24, 2017, the High Court directed the government not to approve any industry within 10 kilometres of the Sundarbans and to submit to the court within 6months, a list of establishments already built within 10 kilometres of the mangrove forest.
It also issued a ruling seeking explanation as to why the approval of industries and factories within 10 km of the forest will not be a violation of the gazette notification of the Environment and Forest Ministry issued in 1999, and why those industries should not be removed.
The Secretaries of the Environment Ministry, Industries Ministry, Land Ministry, Director General of the Department of Environment, Deputy Commissioner of Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Barguna and police superintendent of Khulna, were asked to respond to the ruling.
On April 4, Sheikh Faridul Islam, president of Save the Sundarbans Foundation, filed a writ petition to relocate the industries and factories set up within 10 kilometres of the Sundarbans.
According to the writ petition, the Environment and Forest Ministry issued a gazette notification on August 30 in 1999 declaring the Sundarbans a reserved area and a 10 km radius area as an ecologically critical area, but the Environment Department has reportedly issued clearance certificates to 150 industries in the area.